Brian Flores is back in the NFL. The former Miami Dolphins coach, fired despite an 8-1 finish to the season in a dismissal ascribed to philosophical disagreements with general manager Chris Grier and owner Stephen Ross, was hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers as a senior defensive assistant/linebackers coach.
Brian Flores joins Pittsburgh Steelers staff
Of course, Flores is still involved in litigation having filed a 58-page class-action lawsuit against the NFL, the Dolphins, Denver Broncos, and New York Giants after not landing a head coaching position in this hiring cycle. No other coaches have joined the class-action lawsuit at this time, per sources. However, discussions have been held with coaches to try to get them to join the lawsuit.
The lawsuit remains active, though, per a statement from Wigdor Law, which represents Flores.
“We congratulate Coach Flores on his new position with the Steelers and thank Coach Tomlin and the organization for giving him this great opportunity,” Wigdor Law said in a statement. “While Coach Flores is now focused on his new position, he will continue with his race discrimination class action so that real change can be made in the NFL.”
“I am excited about Brian Flores joining our coaching staff given his history of developing and teaching defensive players during his time in the NFL,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said in a statement. “Brian’s résumé speaks for itself, and I look forward to him adding his expertise to help our team.”
Flores played collegiately at Boston College before working in the New England Patriots’ personnel department. In three years in Miami, he led the Dolphins to a 24-25 overall record. Flores guided the team to back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in nearly 20 years.
Flores is suing the NFL
When Flores filed his lawsuit, Steelers owner and team president Art Rooney II issued the following statement.
“Over the past several years, our Diversity Committee has recommended, and ownership has adopted, a number of enhancements to the Rooney Rule as well as new policies designed to ensure women and minorities are receiving full and fair consideration for coaching and front office positions,” Rooney said.
“The details of these enhancements and new policies have previously been made available. While I acknowledge that we have not seen progress in the ranks of Head Coaches, we have seen marked improvement in the hiring of women and minorities in other key leadership roles such as Coordinator positions, General Manager positions, and front office positions both in and out of football operations. I believe this progress has been made as a result of the implementation of many of the enhanced policies that were recently adopted.
“The Commissioner and League Executives, as well as the Diversity Committee, remain committed to working with all clubs, the Fritz Pollard Alliance, and others in making these efforts as effective as possible and building upon them to promote the desired impacts on hiring decisions in the League at all levels, including Head Coach positions.”
Flores alleged that Ross offered him $100,000 per game lost to intentionally tank, which Ross has refuted in a statement. He also interviewed for jobs with the Houston Texans and New Orleans Saints, but they hired Lovie Smith and Dennis Allen, respectively.
Flores now joins the Steelers in a strong position to potentially become a head coach again at some point. Steelers defensive coordinator Keith Butler retired and Pittsburgh promoted Teryl Austin to defensive coordinator. Flores is a highly respected defensive coach who previously coached the Patriots’ linebackers prior to being hired by the Dolphins.